Vir Vaughn II: The Games
by VaanRagnarok
Summary: The second part in the story of Alan Vaughn, a synthetic marine who has been thrust into a harsh reality he never could have imagined. He has been captured by the Predators, and now must survive their brutal agenda.
1. Chapter 1

_Vir Vaughn II_

_**-The Games-**_

**Chapter 1: The first day of the rest of your life...**

Vaughn lay in the cot, staring at his alien captors. The three predators were still standing just inside the doorway. They were talking back and forth in their language, and undistinguishable smearing of clicks and hisses. Vaughn started to get up, but realized that he could not move from the cot, his arms and legs were strapped to the table. He began to panic. He struggled at the straps, made of a leathery material. One of the predators began to make its way towards him. Vaughn began to struggle more franticly, pulling with all of his strength at the straps. The predator rushed to Vaughn's side, and slammed one massive hand into the synthetic man's neck. He was pressed hard on his back and the predator held him there by the neck. Vaughn choked and sputtered and still tried to get free, but to no avail. The other two predators simply stood back and watched. The predator that was holding Vaughn down grabbed a large syringe from a nearby table with his free hand. Vaughn's panic was driven to a new level; there was nothing he could do. This was it; these things were going to kill him, going to dissect him. He felt the tip of the needle plunge into his side with no regard and he winced at the pain. The predator drew back and Vaughn heaved his chest up and struggled at his bonds, but quickly went back down. His head spun and he could feel the heavy sedative taking effect. He struggled to stay awake, but he lost consciousness within seconds.

When he awoke, he had trouble opening his eyes. Everything was dark and blurry. He could hear the predators talking, in some unknown location nearby. He was once again driven into a state of panic when he realized his restraints had been increased. One around his neck and one around his waist. The panic woke him up fairly effectively. He struggled against his restraints again. There were two predators in the room this time. On of them from before, the other one he had not seen. The predator that had sedated him rushed to him again. Vaughn desperately tried to think, but he could not move he was going to go under again. The predator picked up the syringe and moved towards Vaughn. Then the other predator spoke up in his language. The first predator hesitated slightly and stepped back from Vaughn, then set the syringe down. The second predator moved from his position of leaning against the wall and slowly made his way to Vaughn.

Neither of these predators wore masks, and the one that had sedated him didn't even wear armor. He was smaller, and skinnier, paler than the others were, less impressive. He wore a brown tunic with a leather belt. The tunic had some white symbols stitched into the front of it. The other predator however looked like he was the pinnacle of his race. From what Vaughn could tell, he stood at least nine feet tall. And he wasn't only tall, he was built too, muscles were ripped all over his body. This was truly a monster like none other. He looked much older than the other predators Vaughn had seen. His forehead was covered in tiny barbs, almost like hair. His skin was a pale brown color, and his dreadlocks were long and gray. He wore much nicer armor than the others, all of it matching, all of it shiny and new, almost golden. It also had streaks and designs of chrome all over it. He wore a long purple loincloth, with golden tribal designs on it. Spots covered this predators skin and countless scars from unknown battles. Something about him seemed ancient, yet stronger than ever and almost like some kind of archaic royalty. The most distinguishing feature about the predator though, was on its face. A long scar ran from the top of the right side of his face to the bottom, going right through were his eye should have been. In place of an eye was a piece of metal, with three red lights on it. The synthetic recognized the three red lights from the other predator's masks. The ancient predator now stood next to him and Vaughn almost shook with fear at its mere presence. And then the creature spoke, in almost perfect English. "Ooman, you are awake? Very well then, we shall begin immediately"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Speak, ooman**

The predator's voice was deep and booming. It almost seemed like the room shook when he spoke. Vaughn was stunned to hear it speak his language. The predator looked down at the stunned man with impatience. "What is the matter ooman? Have you lost your ability to speak? Or can you simply not understand me?" The predator then started to speak in what seemed to be German, Japanese and then in Spanish. Vaughn stuttered "I speak English just fine." The predator seemed pleased then aggravated. "Then why did you not speak up sooner ooman? You are all the same, strong or weak, you are all stupid." Vaughn got a little angry at that comment. "How about you let me go and I'll show you how stupid I am you fucking monster!" The predator growled and grabbed Vaughn by the shirt "you call me a monster?! I call you the same!" The predator stepped back and composed himself "it is good that you have spirit ooman, you will need it. But you will soon learn to watch you tongue."

The other predator picked up another instrument from the table and stepped forward. It looked to be a small gun, but with a tiny blade on the end on it. The larger predator spoke again "ooman, you have been chosen. This is an honor shared by very few, only the toughest oomans throughout history have been given the honor of blood ooman" Vaughn eyed the gun suspiciously. "I'm no damn blood ooman, and I'm not even human if that's what ooman is supposed to mean, I'm a synthetic!" The smaller predator loaded the gun with a small cartridge. The larger one spoke "of course you are not a blood ooman yet, you have not earned that title yet. And I am well aware of what you are, but it does not matter, you are an ooman none the less." The smaller predator in the tunic put the gun up against Vaughn's chest and he could feel the tiny blade, ready to puncture. "Wait! What are you...?" And Vaughn was cut off in mid sentence by the loud "kachunk" of the gun as it punched through his flesh. Vaughn cried out in pain and writhed on the cot. The large predator spoke up again "this, ooman, is a chip, a chip that we will monitor you with. And control you with if necessary. Many oomans die from this procedure, sometimes right away, sometimes from infection. We will give you no aide; this is your first test." He turned and walked out of the room. The remaining predator unhooked Vaughn from his five straps, and also started to leave the room. It was about five feet away from the door when Vaughn took this opportunity and leapt from the table. The dashed across the room at the turned back of the predator. The predator casually walked out of the room as the sliding door slammed shut and Vaughn crashed into it. He slumped down against the door, he had hit hard, and now his shoulder felt almost as bad as his chest. He sat against the door, clutching the wound in the center of his chest. He knew that his body would heal soon, but he wasn't worried about his health, he just didn't want the predator chip in him. He stood up and looked around the room. There wasn't much in it except for the medical equipment, it was dark, no windows. He found what he needed on the table. There were three instruments. The syringe, the gun, and a large, multiple bladed scalpel. Vaughn picked up the strange blade and sat on the cot. He removed his tattered shirt and tore off a strip of it. He bunched up the strip of shirt and bit down on it. The wound on his chest was still bleeding a little, so it wasn't very hard to find were he needed to cut.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: defiance**

Vaughn bit down hard on the strip of shirt. He slowly dug the blade into his chest with both hands. He cringed and grunted as the blade went deeper into his skin. Blood now poured from around the blade. He pushed it further until he felt it hit the metal. He knew that he had found the chip, since all of his enhancements were made of an organic material and synthetic fibers. He closed his eyes and pried the chip closer to the surface. A scream erupted from his throat, muffled by the strip of shirt. The pain was nearly unbearable. Blood gushed out of the wound as he jarred the blade from left to right trying to un-lodge the chip. He screamed from deep within his throat again and the chip came to the surface. He threw the scalpel to a dark corner of the room and picked the bloody chip out of his chest. He threw it to the floor, got up, and then proceeded to stomp it into a million pieces. He walked over to one of the corners of the room a sat down. He winced as the now deep gash in his chest still burned with pain. The synthetic man put his head against the wall and somehow drifted to sleep.

He awoke some time later, a long enough time for his wound to heal completely. He heard the predator talking from outside of the room. Vaughn snatched up the bloody scalpel and crouched beside the door. The predator walked through the door and Vaughn took his opportunity to attack. Vaughn leapt as the predator walked into the room. It was the predator in the brown tunic, so it had no armor or weapons to defend itself. He plunged the blade deep into the predator's neck. It jerked with surprise and pain. The predator fell to the floor and roared as bright green blood gushed out around the scalpel. Vaughn dashed up and out of the door. Dim yellowish lights lighted the hall he stepped into. It stretched far on into the distance and only in one direction. Vaughn took off down the hall at full speed, passing door after door. He rushed away from the room and the injured predator as fast as he could. After a few seconds a turn came into view. Vaughn breathed heavily, his head spun and his vision began to blur. He stumbled to a stop just before he reached the turn. He dropped to one knee and began choking for air. But there was none to breathe. The predators did not breathe the same air as he did, and the room had been the only place with high enough levels of oxygen to sustain him. Vaughn felt himself slipping away into unconsciousness, and he collapsed to the floor. He lay there, on his back, and vaguely noticed more tunic-wearing predators gathering around him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: a begging, of sorts**

WARNING, WARNING. CRITICAL SYSTEMS ACTIVATION, RELEASING ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION LOCKS... ALL LOCKS DISSOLVED...

Vaughn awoke to a much nicer room, and no bonds. The walls were drab, dull gray, and it was still badly lit, but not as much so as the first room. He rolled to his side and sat up on the slightly more comfortable cot. He felt quite light-headed closed his eyes to try to stop the room from spinning. He opened them again and surveyed the new room. It had a high ceiling, with two big mirrored windows near the top, like an interrogation room. There was no medical equipment here, just the cot and three large, metal cylinders on the floor. He stood up and raised his finger to the mirrored window. He stopped though, when he noticed the taste in the air for the first time. An almost metallic, fume like thing. The air felt heavier too, like he was in some sort of strange pressure system. It didn't at all seem right to him, but at the same time it wasn't bothering at all. A static voice clicked on and the synthetic man followed it to a small speaker in on of the corners of the ceiling. "Ooman, you have passed your first test, I am very pleased. And some what surprised." Vaughn directed his talk to the windows. "What the hell is going on? What is this? And what do you mean I passed a test? I got rid of your damn chip!" The booming voice came on again. "Yes ooman, you have passed the first test. We do not wish weakness to be a part of any warrior, and submitting to another is weakness." "So you wanted me to take out the chip?" "Of course, if you had left it in, it would have killed you within the day. Ridding yourself of weakness is the first test ooman, both mental, and physical."

Vaughn sat back down on the cot. "So you rat bastards played me like a fool, a damn fool..." he spoke softly to himself. "Enough ooman, it is time for your second test, you should be proud, most die from the first test, even if they pass it, but you have healed quickly. So you shall begin the real testing immediately." Vaughn stood from the cot and screamed at the windows. "God dammit! What the hell are you talking about!? What am I being tested for?" The voice came back, not as patient as before. "You will be tested ooman, whether you want to be or not. If you fail or refuse, you die." The synthetic grew silent. He saw no way out of this situation; the best idea would be to play this little game until an opportunity arose. "Fine, tell me what to do..." the voice came back over the intercom a little more pleased that before.

"Good good, beside you ooman are storage containers, open them." Vaughn walked over to the metal cylinders and pressed the small button on the rim of one of them. He stood back and the top of the container-spun open like the iris of a camera. " Take the equipment out of the container ooman." Vaughn cautiously reached into the open container and pulled out a deep blue sleeveless tunic, faded and tore, seemingly quite old. He pulled out a belt made of leather and pants that looked much like the tunic. "What do you want me to do with these? Wear them?" "Of course ooman, those will be your new cloths, open the others." Vaughn did so, and pulled out two metal bracers and a pair of odd sandals out of the second. He started to take out a strange gas mask like item but the predator voice told him to put it back. "You are quite the specimen ooman, you have no need of this item, and you seem to be able to breathe our air just fine." Vaughn disregarded it and moved to the third container. He opens it and the predator spoke again. "That is your armaments ooman, take only one, and leave the others." He took all of them out and laid them out on the cot. A shaft about the size of a forearm with tiny buttons on it, a small-serrated sickle, and a pair of large bronze colored knives. "The one to your left ooman, is a spear, press the buttons on it and it will extend and retract. The one in the middle is a weapon used mostly by those who hunt dishonorably, but it is still suitable for an ooman. The knives are a pair, they don't have much range ooman, but in the hands of a skilled warrior, they could stand up to any longer blade." Vaughn grabbed the knives. "You are ready ooman, change, and you shall begin."

"Geez, give a guy a little privacy man... I mean, unless you guys are that way... in that case I think I might have to reconsider going along with this..." the predator voice comes back over the intercom in a confused manor. "I... am not sure what you mean by this ooman, but I assure you that you have your privacy." Vaughn reluctantly disrobed from his blood stained clothing, although he was happy to be out of them, he was quite dirty, and this brought forth-another opportunity to be grateful for his lack of smell. He put on the battered old clothing; at least it was clean. He snapped on the bracers and put on the sandals, and then he put on the leather belt and slid the knives in it. "Very well ooman, this is the second test, survive and you pass, go." "Wait you..." Vaughn stopped when the doors slid open.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: launch**

Vaughn stepped out into the hallway. This one was not all that different from the one he ran down before, except that it had no doors, and the lighting was a little better. At the end of the long hall was a single door, and on either side of that door were predators. One on each side. These predators had a much different look than that of the others he had seen. They were about six foot five inches tall, but their shoulders were twice as wide as Vaughn's. Every inch of them was filled in with huge bulging muscles. They didn't look half as agile as the others he had seen, but not only because of their build. They wore thick plated armor. All of their bodies were covered; they even wore their masks when the others had not. They held only a very large, very bladed scythe, not even the shoulder cannon or wrist blades that seemed to be predator standard issue. He strode down the hallway toward the predators and the door cautiously. One of the heavily clad predators spoke to him when he was closer. "This way ooman, your test awaits." Vaughn spoke back. "Yeah, I kind of figured as much... what are you guys anyway?" The other predator spoke up. "We are the vanguard ooman, you would do well to not ask us questions, and continue on." The synthetic closed his mouth and walked through the door as it slid open; he figured it best to not cause any kind of trouble.

Beyond the door was another hall, smaller in length. He walked down it also, and into the door at the end. Five circular hatches, all very secure looking stood on the opposite wall from him. The booming voice caught him by surprise again as it erupted from a speaker. "Open the pod on the far-left ooman, it is automated, and will take you to your destination." My destination? What are you talking about? Where are we?" "Do not worry about it ooman, just get in and everything will be explained." Vaughn reluctantly stepped up to the far-left door and cranked it open. He stepped through and into what looked like a cockpit. He sat in the rough looking brown seat and instantly noticed the size difference. The seat was wide, and his legs hung somewhat uncomfortably off of the front because of its length. This vessel was meant for predators. Numerous buttons and screens with strange symbols filled the cockpit on bronze colored consoles as the equipment buzzed to life. The windows were small, and nothing could be seen through them because they shown nothing but darkness. A communications channel opened and another predator voice came on.

"Ooman, this is your second test." "So I've heard" Vaughn said sarcastically. "This shuttle pod will take you to your proving grounds; there you will be given further instruction." The voice clicked off and the pod jerked violently. Vaughn strapped himself in and waited. The shuttle shot out at breakneck speed. Although it could hardly be seen compared to the monstrous ship that it had erupted from. Vaughn looked out through one of the small windows into space, and upon the huge ship. "Space?! What the hell?" But he forgot about his shock of being in space at the sight of the ship. Complex wings and decks and towers covered the beast, it stretched on for what seemed like forever, almost glowing with its bronze metallic surface. His attention was quickly diverted however when the shuttle started to shake.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: turbulence **

The shuttle shook with fury as the flames engulfed the outer hull. It drove through the atmosphere in only a few seconds, and the shaking stopped. From the surface of the planet the shuttle could be seen streaking across the sky like some kind of meteor. Vaughn held onto the straps that held him in with dear life. He could not judge how fast he was falling, but he was falling very, very fast. The synthetic felt weightless for the duration of the fall, something that both scared, and excited him. He slammed back down to his seat when the heavy thruster kicked in on the bottom of the pod. They shot their rocket streams at full burn and the decent began to slow. Suddenly alarms started to go off all around him. Flashing symbols alerted him to something he could not understand. The pod began to shake again and a loud whining sound overpowered even the roar of the thrusters. Just then a monumental explosion rocked the pod. One of the thrusters exploded, sending the shuttle spinning violently out of control. The automated systems tried to compensate, but the force of the explosion was too much. It spiraled down to the surface of the jungle planet, leaving a thick trail of smoke behind. Vaughn held on for dear life and hoped that this was another test. The shuttle was now again engulfed in flames. It shot down to the planet and slammed down hard into a clearing with high grass. The ground shook and mud and grass flew from the impact site. Unknown animals scurried around just beyond sight in the dense foliage. The heap of shuttle pod smoked thick and black as a panel jerked, them flew off as the synthetic man trapped inside kicked it out and crawled out of the wreckage.

Vaughn coughed and spit up a little blood as he stumbled away from the heap of hot metal. He dropped to his knees and choked up some more blood, then rolled to his back and took a deep breath. "Well, at least I didn't fall out of the sky or anything..." he was glad that he could still manage a since of humor despite his situation. Vaughn lay there for maybe two minutes until he regained his composure. He slowly staggered to his feet surveyed his surroundings. He was in a clearing of knee high grass, dense jungle all around him. The shuttle pod that he had come down in was now a smoldering heap of metal. The wet grass around it burning slightly, sending up small streams of smoke. A thin layer of fog floated just above the grass, not quite thick enough to hide what was underneath? Vaughn couldn't see more than about five feet into the foliage, something that unsettled him a bit. He still wondered if this was another test, but was doubtful that something like this could be planned so well. Vaughn's thoughts were quickly answered as some of the foliage brushed aside and the fog wrapped itself around a pair of invisible legs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: from the fog**

The large scarred predator sat atop an equally impressive chair. He looked through various files on a small computer touch-screen hanging down in front of him. A young looking predator in basic looking armor rushed onto the bridge of the giant predator ship, and up to the scarred predator. "Sir, there has been a problem with the ooman's trials..." he spoke in his own language. "What?!" The scarred predator pushed the screen aside and sat up in his chair. "Sir... the shuttle pod that the ooman took had a... minor malfunction..." "what do you mean a minor malfunction?" "We are not sure as of yet sir, but something happened to the shuttle" the scarred predator leaped up from his chair and grabbed the much smaller alien by the neck and lifted him a full foot off of the ground. The young predator chocked and his eyes bulged out. "You will find out what happened to my ooman, or I will have your mandibles on a platter!" He threw the predator to the ground and he sat back in his chair and cursed to himself as the young one scurried away.

Vaughn drew his knives as the cloaked predator drew closer. The synthetic took a few steps back called to the figure. "I see you, you know. A-are you hear for the test?..." He predator uncloaked and his appearance was reviled. Tall and lanky, not unlike some of the others he had seen. He wore little armor, a chest plate that only covered the left half of his chest, a small shoulder pad on his right shoulder, and a large one on his right. Gauntlets and shin guards of similar design to each other, smooth with a few ridges. He wore a dark gray kilt with leather straps cress-crossed at the waist. On the end of the straps were the only weapons besides the wrist blades he had, two disks, finger holes in the center of them along with a few buttons. His entire armor was a Very light gray, almost white. Its mask was smooth, with a black line vertically through either eye. He spoke with a solid confidence; a pure and unfaltering tone that seemed like it flowed straight from stone. "Ooman, I am your test."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: the chase**

Vaughn studied the predator and challenged him. "You know I could just kill you, escape, and are done with this stupid test shit." The predator spoke again in his rock solid tone. "Try it ooman, I would gladly cut you down where you stand. I have no care for these games." He was not amused. "Games? What games?" Vaughn tried to get a better hold of his situation, but to no avail. "I have said too much already ooman, you are to be informed after, and only after you have passed all three tests." "Three tests? Well I thought you weren't supposed to tell me anything?" The predator spoke again, his rocky voice wavering a little from anger due to revealing a little more information. "Silence ooman, you will follow me now." The predator turned and walked towards the jungle. "Hey wait a minute, what did you mean by you being my test?" The predator shimmered and disappeared as his cloaking activated and he rushed off through the trees. "Oh great..." Vaughn gave chase quickly as he too went headlong into the dense foliage.

The scared predator sat impatiently on his chair awaiting confirmation of what had happened. One of the predators in a computer station in front of him turned in his seat and spoke. "Sir, we have just gotten word on what happened to the ooman." "Well?!" The scarred predator snapped up and glared at the other predator. "Um sir, his shuttle pod malfunctioned and one of the landing thrusters exploded and well... he landed near the original destination, but scans of the area have brought back no life forms..." "what?!" The scarred predator leaped from his seat and roared at the top of his lungs. "My goddamn ooman better not be dead! That one has incredible potential! And the games are only a month away! That's hardly enough time to train him as it is! Let alone if he is hurt, or dead!!! Even if he is an unnatural!"

Vaughn ran as fast as he could through the thick trees and brush, small branches whipping him in the face and barbed vines cutting at him legs all the way. He could still see faint traces of the predator he was in pursuit of, leaves being thrown aside only a few feet in front of him, at least that's what is seemed like, he was moving to fast to acutely tell. Suddenly light poured in all around him and he was blinded as he broke through into another clearing. The predator stood on the other side of the clearing. This clearing was bare of grass or any other foliage. The ground was made out of what looked like dark blue clay. The clearing was circular, definitely not natural. There was a large metal pole sticking out of the ground in the middle, and a thick chain attached it to a creature that paced back and forth.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Tak'kah**

The creature snarled and tugged at its restraint, trying to get at the synthetic man. Its basic body type resembled that of a lion, except in the way that a grizzly resembles a teddy bear. It had rows of long quills down its neck and back, like a death mane, and huge bone-like claws protruded from its paws. Two huge saber fangs jutted down on each side of its mouth and its drooled and snapped and roared at the man. Its eyes emanated like two yellow embers in the shadow of the pole. Its blood red fur shone like it was metallic, and finally the predator spoke. "This is the Tak'kah, Ooman, kill it, and you pass your final test.

The predator disappeared though the trees and before Vaughn could get a word out, he heard a loud "clunk" and the chain fell from around the Tak'kah's neck. It instantly leaped high into the air and let out a blood-curtailing roar. Vaughn drew the blades from his belt and summoned forth the surreal feeling of his technique. The Tak'kah fell down at him in a rush, then slowed almost to a halt. Something was wrong though. Instead of feeling lightened, he felt heavier. He felt enormous pressures being exerted on him, and his head spun as pain swept over him. It was a deep pain, in his chest, almost like there was a black hole there and it was pulling him apart from the inside out. He snapped back to normal and dropped to his knees in pain. He dropped the knives to the ground and grabbed at his chest. The Tak'kah slammed down into Vaughn with amazing force. They crashed into a twisted heap of bodies and chunks of clay flew up into the air as the synthetic man was slammed into the ground. Vaughn struggled to breathe since his chest was almost crushed by the force of the Tak'kah. It scrambled to its feet and began to circle the man. Vaughn rolled over and pushed up to his hands and knees. He coughed and sputtered trying to catch his breath and spit out blood onto the ground. The Tak'kah pounced at him again, but Vaughn wasn't very intent on being a meal. He snatched up one of the knives and thrust it at the oncoming beast. The blade plunged deep into the Tak'kah's chest and it roared in pain. It quickly smacked the knife away from Vaughn's hand with one paw, then dug the claws of another into Vaughn's chest. The beast broke two of Vaughn's ribs as it bounced its weight on the paw that now held down the man, and the claws dug deeper into his flesh. Vaughn let out a scream of pain as the Tak'kah bit at his head. He reached up and grabbed a hold of the large saber fangs plunging at him. He struggled against its strength as it bounced its weight on his chest again. Vaughn's hands bled, and his arms felt as if they were about to buckle. He kicked at the under side of the Tak'kah but it had no effect on the beast. Vaughn could feel his chances slipping away with every passing second, so with one last burst of strength he twisted the Tak'kah's head as hard as he could. The animal was sent off balance and fell from the synthetic man. Vaughn leapt to his feet with pain, snatching the other knife from the ground. The Tak'kah stood to its feet as well, and shook off the last attack. Vaughn could feel himself bleeding from his multiple wounds, as well as internally. If he didn't take care of this thing quick, he would never get the chance to heal. The Tak'kah pounced at the man again, but this time he was ready. Vaughn dodged the Tak'kah's attack and jumped onto it's back. Vaughn wasn't thinking though, and fell right onto the quills that covered the Tak'kah's back. The sharp spines punctured through Vaughn's chest and stomach in several places. Vaughn fell backwards off of the beast, ripping off the tunic as he fell to the ground, blood gushing from his many wounds. The Tak'kah slowly strode over to its downed prey. It growled deep in its throat as it hovered its head just above that of the prone man.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: With flying colors**

The predator jumped down from a tree on the far side of the clearing. He shook his head as he slowly walked towards the Tak'kah. The beast jerked suddenly and screeched. It fell to the ground and lay there in spasms. Its dark purple blood gushed from the knife embedded deep within its neck. Vaughn slowly stood to his feet, still bleeding heavily. He held his chest and coughed up blood, but he still managed to smile at the confused predator. "Ooman?" The predator said stunned. "Like I said, not quite... so am I done now or what?" Vaughn laughed to himself, and pain shot through him. "Ah dammit!" He dropped down to one knee. The predator spoke to Vaughn; his stone solid voice now seemed rather pleased. "Good ooman, good! You have passed the final test, and proven yourself worthy! Are you ok to walk?" Vaughn sat down on the damp clay ground.

"You sure seem concerned about me now, what happened to the whole not telling me a damn thing plan?" "Ooman, you have passed our trials, you have earned our respect." Vaughn sat there for a moment and thought about the strange situation he was in, and the aliens that seemed to have very odd customs. "So how about you tell me why exactly I'm here?" Was what he finally said. "All will be explained to you when we return to the grand arbiter, he will be quite pleased." "You said something about walking? How far?" Said Vaughn while examining his wounds. "Not far at all, just down that path a ways, then to my drop ship." "Your ship? Are we leaving this place so soon? I was hoping to maybe make a nice little cottage, find a girl, settle down and have a few kids you know, all that good stuff" the predator didn't understand Vaughn's attempt at humor. "You wish to have children? What are you talking about?" "Never mind..." Vaughn sat up and winced in pain as he stood to his feet. "Let us go then ooman."

The predator set off out of the clearing and down a narrow path, the only one Vaughn had seen in this place. "I have a name you know its Vaughn. Since were on this whole earned respect ship, how about you tell me yours?" The predator continued down the path, not looking back. "I am Ka-jell...Vaughn. And I will be your keeper until your blooding." Vaughn followed after the predator. "Keeper? And what do your mean by blooding?" "As I said ooman, the grand arbiter will explain all when we get back." "Its Vaughn, remember? And who is this grand arbiter guy you keep talking about?" The predator stopped and turned towards Vaughn. "Oom... Vaughn, you have already met the grand arbiter, he was the one who you spoke with earlier. And it is of the utmost importance that you treat him with respect!" Vaughn got the impression that the grand arbiter was the old scarred predator in the impressive armor that he had seen. "Ok I get it, big cheese, kiss the ass, gotcha" the predator turned and walked on without a word.

They soon came to another clearing, this one housed a large ship of predator design. They approached it and Ka-jeal spoke in his own tongue and a door opened. Vaughn could feel that his wounds had started to heal, but it was still going to take some time. They stepped onto the small ramp that slid out of the open door and onto the ship. The room Vaughn was in had a thin layer of fog covering the ground, and was dimly lit with low amber light. Four pillars stood in the middle, each reaching from the floor to the ceiling. There was a hallway in front of him that turned shortly after it began so he could not see down it and an open room to his left. The predator walked into the hall, and as he did so he said "follow me" Vaughn started after the predator, but the room to his left caught his eye. He stepped into the room, decent size. Many racks and bolts and shelves filled the room. Vaughn was stunned to see what was on them, skulls.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Leaving **

Vaughn looked over the grotesque display of death. There were skulls everywhere, and very few were alike. Huge ones, small ones, some with large chunks or gashes missing from them. They were like nothing Vaughn had ever seen before. What looked like some kind of brutal dinosaur, some type of bull with four horns, a couple of skulls that he recognized too, a pair of Tak'kah, twice the size of the one he had killed. There were numerous other skulls as well, all of them quite alien. Then a group on the far all in particular caught his eye. He slowly walked over to them, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. His heart raced and he began to sweat. He could hear the pulse rifles pouring their ammo into the unknown and horrible screeching. He could remember the darkness swallowing up his fellow marines one by one like it had been yesterday. He remembered them as they were drug off into the caves, bloody and screaming for help. The gunfire was louder now; he could feel the chill of the night, and the heat of the napalm flamethrower being used a few feet away from him. He could feel the horror again as his gun stopped firing, the digital ammo readout reading "00". Then the claws tearing into his flesh as he too began to be carried away... "ooman!"

Vaughn snapped back to consciousness and turned to see Ka-jeal standing behind him. "I said to follow me, you will learn quickly that not following orders is a bad mistake. This time you are fine since you just got here, but now you know." Vaughn just nodded with out saying a word then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. As they walked away, Vaughn looked back at the group of skulls and muttered to himself. "Bugs..." they walked down the hall and passed a room to the right, then another. The hallway finally ended and led into a large room, with large windows, controls and two seats, it was a room similar to the cockpit of the pod he had landed in. the predator sat down in the seat to the left and motioned for Vaughn to sit in the other one. There was a small blinking light on one of the panels. The predator pressed it, and a display screen flickered to life, and showed the angry face of the grand arbiter. The arbiter noticed Vaughn sitting there, and his expression quickly changed. "Ooman!" The arbiter spoke again in his near perfect English. "I am glad that you have passed the trials!" Vaughn was stilling a little shocked by the faces of these aliens, and couldn't bring himself to look directly at them. The fact that they were quite ugly had gone well with their somber attitudes, but the excitement that these two showed at his passing of the trials didn't fit them well at all, and it was quite funny. Vaughn just nodded and forced himself not to laugh, remembering what Ka-jeal had said. After some talking between the arbiter and Ka-jeal in there own language, the screen click off, and Vaughn was told to strap in. the ship rose from the planet with a steady vibration and hum. They shot towards the heavens, leaving the planet of the ooman trials behind.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Q and A**

Vaughn followed Ka-jeal past another set of Vanguard, and into a huge room. Dozens of predators lined up in two lines, forming a runway of sorts. The grand arbiter stood at the end, two Vanguards on either side of him. Both Vaughn and Ka-jeal walked down the middle of the rows of predators. The grand arbiter smiled as they approached (as much as something with no lips could smile). He put one massive hand on Vaughn's shoulder and spoke to him in a rather cheerful tone. "Ooman! You have passed the trials! But I knew you would! To be honest with you, it was all just a formality." Vaughn wasn't sure what the grand arbiter meant. ** "**A formality? I don't understand..."

"Ooman, you have already proved yourself to be more than worthy for our games..." the grand arbiter turned around and picked up two predator masks that were sitting on a chair behind him. "These are what I mean ooman." He held up the two masks, one had three bullet holes strafing across it, with one eyepiece shattered. Vaughn recognized the two masks almost immediately. "Those... those are the masks that I took from those two...your two monsters..." the grand arbiter seemed confused at first. "Ooman I... ah, those that you met were bad bloods, outcasts from out society." Vaughn thought about that for a second. "I don't care, anything that could kill all of those people, all of those scientists weren't even armed! Anything that could kill so readily doesn't become that way from getting outcast..." the grand arbiter gave the masks to one of the Vanguards beside him. "We do kill your kind ooman, this is true... but we are an honorable race, those that hunt, live for it. We kill only the combat worthy, and would never harm someone who wishes not to fight. Those that you met, the bad bloods, they have betrayed our honor, and their own... and you have slain them. Your divine judgment was handed down by your own hand; you have done the job of an arbiter ooman. And that is far more than any ooman could be expected of, you would bring us victory in the games, and great honor!" The rows of predators cheered as the grand arbiter finished his last sentence. Vaughn looked at Ka-jeal, who had taken off his mask and participated in the cheering. The synthetic man then looked back at the arbiter. "Ka-jeal has mentioned these games, and I heard you mention them before too I think... tell me what you're talking about" the grand arbiter seemed more pleased than ever.

"The games!" He shouted as another cheer erupted from the predators. "For many years, we have held our great games!" "We?" Vaughn interrupted. "Yes ooman, almost all of the clans participate in the games... they are a series of duals, between each clan's representative, a tournament that decides great honor!" Another cheer. Vaughn felt like he was at some kind of alien pep rally before the big game. "Like gladiators?" Vaughn asked the grand arbiter. "Yes ooman, shortly after one of the greatest oomans ever to fight in the games was returned to his home, he spoke of the games, and a coliseum was built. We thought it wasn't a bad idea, a place were oomans trained was a good place to find candidates for the next games..."

Vaughn stopped listening about half way through, all he needed to hear was "returned to his home" and he was already thinking that he might not have to fight his way out of here after all. "...But in time their civilization fell, and no other oomans seemed to have their thirst for glory, at least not on such a grand scale." Vaughn decided right then and there that he was going to win these games, and go home. "So let me get this straight, I beat some other people and get a free ticket home?" The grand arbiter looked at him with a little disappointment. "Yes ooman... You may... But to stay and receive the training the winner deserves is a much better honor." Vaughn almost laughed, but he caught himself since he figured pissing off these guys right now wouldn't end in anything good. "Well... I've never really worried that much about honor...but I guess that ill give it a thought" the predators all grew silent. "Ooman, honor is what separates the brutes from the elite, the divine from the heathens; honor is the glue that binds us all." The grand arbiter stood tall in his bronze armor among his clan. "The trials are over now ooman, your training will begin soon..." the arbiter took back the masks from the vanguard beside him and held them out to Vaughn. "These are yours ooman, let them be your first lesson in honor."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Grand tour**

Vaughn walked down the long dim hallway right behind Ka'jeal. The synthetic man was still a little weary about saying anything. He hadn't thought that the predators would get mad, hell he even re-phrased what he was going to say but seeing as how the ceremony had ended so abruptly, he figured he had said the wrong thing. He made a mental note not to open his mouth about "honor" again. "So uh..." he began, but Ka'jeal quickly spun and cut him off. "Ooman, you must learn the importance of honor, no representative to the games from the grand arbiter's clan with have a heathen tongue!" Vaughn was a little shocked and he took a few steps back. Then retaliated. "Honor?! Honor?! You wanna talk about honor? How about killing every man woman and child in a bloody massacre? How about attacking me with freaking invisibility? How is that for honor?! Is that your honor?" Ka'jeal was not as patient as the arbiter was. "Ooman you will watch your tongue!" One massive hand shot out and grabbed Vaughn by the shirt and slammed him up against the wall. "You have already been told of the bad bloods! They were the ones who did that! Not us! We are the divine sword of the council! Destined to smite those who defy our laws, and those of our gods!" Ka'jeal slowly let go of Vaughn and then started walking down the hall again without a word. "Bad bloods..." Vaughn said to himself as he followed grudgingly.

Ka'jeal took a turn into an open circular room. The room held a fountain in the middle; something similar to water flowed from its head. There were hallways connecting all around. Each had a plaque above it, possibly declaring the destination it would take you too, but it wasn't in English. Ka'jeal spoke to Vaughn as he pointed out some of the hallways. "This was is the bridge, that's were we came from, over there is the training area, if you go here you will find the infirmary, and down there is were your room will be." Vaughn was still a little angry about before, but the thought of his situation made him lighten up a bit, he was getting a tour from an alien, and he had a room in a place he had never seen before. He shook his head and laughed a little bit. "What is funny ooman?" "Uh, nothing, nothing. So what are the other halls?" "You will not be in need of those facilities" Vaughn felt a tinge of suspiciousness. "Why not?" Ka'jeal looked at Vaughn with a sigh and said: "fine, this one is the shop, there is the bar, and that one is more crew quarters." Vaughn thought about it for a second. "A bar and a shop sound important to me; why wont I need them?" Ka'jeal gave off the impression that he was explaining something Vaughn should already know. "Because ooman, the shop will sell nothing to you, not that you have the credits, and the bar will not let you in." Vaughn gave up in his attempt to mess with Ka'jeal and simply replied "damn racists" Ka'jeal shook his head and headed off in the direction of Vaughn's quarters. They arrived after some walking and with a few button presses to a panel, the door slid up. The room was medium sized, a little bigger than the one he had woke up here on. One dim light was attached to the ceiling. There was what looked like some sort of dresser; a wall mounted computer with a chair, a couple of the funny little cylinder containers from before, and a large hammock in the corner. "Ah the lap of luxury" Vaughn said sarcastically as he strutted into the room.

"Ooman, there is something that I was meaning to ask you..." Vaughn sat down on the hammock and replied "shoot" Ka'jeal looked confused "shoot? Shoot what?" Vaughn just said: "forget it, just ask" Ka'jeal nodded. "Ooman, you killed two bad bloods, granted they were only low ranking ones, but doing such a thing is almost unheard of among the oomans. How did you accomplish this?" Vaughn looked down at the two masks still in his hands, and held up the one with the bullet holes. "Well it doesn't take a genius to figure this one out" he said as he tossed it onto the near by dresser. "This one the other hand is a little harder to explain."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: The past and the legends **

Ka'jeal sat down in the chair in from of the computer and spun it to look at Vaughn. Vaughn held up the other mask. "This guy and me weren't exactly the best of friends. He ambushed me when I went to check out... well when I went to check something. He probably would have killed me too if it wasn't for me being all... you know, artificial" Ka'jeal seemed confused for a moment, then seemed to understand. Vaughn continued: "well hell I wouldn't have even been able to survive if not for that weird... acceleration... yeah, I like that." "Acceleration?" "Yeah I... uh... its kinda hard to explain, all of a sudden everything was just slowed you know? Like time had slowed down around me, like I was floating, and everyone else had just stopped." The predator spoke with excitement. "Yes...yes! Ooman! That is just like the legends... the greatest Yautja legends tell of warriors that could command time it! They could move like the wind and strike faster than one could form a thought..." Vaughn stopped him. "Yautja?" "Yes ooman, we are the Yautja."

Vaughn was surprised to have a name to give to these aliens, but he liked that he could. "Go on" "yes, these warriors were said to be unbeatable in combat." "So... How did they get that way?" "By way of the gods of course. The gods gave them a gift, some of their own bones, and when the warriors took the bones into themselves, they became invincible!" Vaughn was stunned. He remembered something that looked like bones, tiny and white, they could have even been finger bones. He remembered them from his surgery. They were lying there on the table as they operated on him, and they had put them inside of him. "And some say that one day the greatest of all warriors will be invited into the lair of the gods, and he shall become one of them." Ka'jeal looked at Vaughn with an almost childlike curiosity. "How could you have obtained the speed of the gods?" Vaughn took a deep breath and a long sigh. "Well, how about once upon a time? It was a large planet. It was temperate and fairly docile, the soil was rich and the air was clean. It was perfect for a colony. Food could be grown, the people could prosper. But they hadn't counted on the wildlife being... somewhat intrusive. Well I'm not sure exactly what went down, but by the time we got there, there weren't many colonists left... we... had to put them down... in case they were...um...hosts..." Ka'jeal interrupted him. "Hosts?" Vaughn struggled to say the words. "Yeah...um...the bugs they... they would lay their... young inside of you... Then eventually it would burst out... There was no way to stop it besides killing the host... it was the most awful thing I..." Ka'jeal's eye's widened and he uttered something in his own language. "What?" Vaughn wasn't sure what to say. Ka'jeal looked up and said: "the hard skins..." "well... we called them bugs, the higher ups called them xenos..." "Yes...Vaughn, all Yautja know of the hard skins, but continue..." "ok... well they had been overrun by... the hard skins... and when we got there the only ones left were the infected and the dieing...

Well soon after we made our first couple sweeps we found them, all in this one cave. We all stood at the mouth of the cave and unloaded every shot we had. We were there for what seemed like forever. If we would have turned and ran they would have swarmed us, but they did anyway when we started to run out of ammo, and lose men one by one. One by one they were pulled into the darkness, kicking and screaming. Eventually I was empty too, and they got me. One pounced on me and I felt the teeth and claws. There wasn't much after that; I don't remember anything... the guys that were left told me that the bugs just kind of left. And that I was left laying in the mouth of the cave in pieces. My captain tried to leave me there... we didn't really get along... but anyway, they rebuilt me with an experimental surgery. Added in some alien tech that they didn't know how to use, then when they couldn't figure me out they ditched me. Eventually I got send to the boon docks of space and I was happy there to tell you the truth... then well, you know what happened next. After I got attacked, something in me just snapped, it felt like some block in my system had... dissolved or something... it happened again when I got here and couldn't breathe." Ka'jeal stood and walked towards the door. "This is good to know Vaughn... it will make you a much more formidable opponent for the games." He then walked out into the hall, and before walking off said "I will be back in the morning, your training starts then."

Vaughn sat silent as the door slid shut. He put one hand on his stomach and could almost feel the deep pain that he had felt the last two times he had tried to use the acceleration. "Don't get your hopes up buddy, I been having some trouble performing lately, but Im sure that happens to a lot of guys." Vaughn took off the torn tunic and lay back onto the hammock. He was asleep in minutes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Training days**

Vaughn was awoken early the next morning by a young Yautja, who seemed like he had never seen a human before, then led him to Ka'jeal in the training room. It was more of a series of rooms actually, a weight room, a couple of sparring rooms. Even one that resembled a small arena. The training wasn't really anything spectacular. Vaughn was trained on the basics of Yautja weaponry, and general basics of combat. But at the end of every day Ka'jeal would ask Vaughn about the acceleration. And every day Vaughn would dodge the subject. Day after day Vaughn learned more about combat, and slowly he was becoming a warrior. At first he felt lost without the use of the acceleration, but as time went on he thought about it less as his abilities increased. Ka'jeal stopped asking as well. Vaughn trained with the Yautja for three long weeks, raising early in the morning, training for most of the day, then going to sleep equally early. Never was he permitted into the other sections of the ship, just the same long corridors every day. It was a laborious and boring existence at first, but slowly he began to enjoy his lessons, and he regarded Ka'jeal as his friend, his mentor.

In between training sessions they would rest in a small room full of tables and chairs, and Vaughn would tell Ka'jeal and the apprentices of human stories and legends. Ka'jeal returned the favor with Yautja stories as well sometimes. Vaughn couldn't understand the Yautja language, and the apprentices couldn't understand him. But Ka'jeal would translate between the two parties. Vaughn could feel what they were saying, he wasn't sure how, but he thought it might have something to do with why he could breathe their air. Eventually he began to understand them. Little by little he picked up on their language, and then he learned to speak it. It was a happy day the time he uttered his first Yautja words. They were stunned to say the least. A roar of laughter and cheers erupted from the small group as Vaughn replied "thank you" when one of the apprentices asked Ka'jeal to praise Vaughn for telling them the story of Hercules. As strange as it seems, Vaughn began to view these aliens as his friends. He seemed to forget his hatred for them, now focused into a single being, the crimson beast. Vaughn didn't know his real name, so he called it that. He had heard little about him, only what the apprentices could tell him. He knew from them that he was a minion of the greatest bad blood of all time, a Yautja that they only referred to as "crescent". Apparently Vaughn had cut short a celebration for the crimson beast, a slaughter that the bad bloods take part in to fulfill some kind of sick blood lust. Vaughn had begun to have doubts about his plan to leave after he won the games also. He wondered were he would go, his home was long gone before this whole thing had even started, and the planet were they had picked him up was deserted now. He had no place to go but here. The crimson beast influenced his thoughts too, because he desperately wanted revenge...


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Prelude to battle**

Vaughn walked down the long hall towards his room. No one escorted him anymore; he had proven that he could be trusted. He stepped in front of the door and slid the little key they gave him through the slot there. The door slid open and he stepped in. this Vaughn was a changed man. He had grown to six foot three inches tall in the three and a half weeks he had been here. He had gained a large amount of muscle mass too. No longer was he a scrawny little guy like the mercs had called him. He let his hair grow out now, just a little shaggy now, but he planned to make it look like the Yautja's. It had darkened as well, from blonde to a light brown. He barely noticed these things though, it just felt right to him, he could tell that his body was adapting at a super fast rate, and he was grateful. He fell down into the hammock of netting, and stared at the masks now mounted on his wall. They were his trophies, them along with the Tak'kah skull that rested on a pedestal right below. He was proud of them, mostly because the Yautja said he should be. Honor was everything to a Yautja hunter, and trophies of the kill were markers of that honor. Ka'jeal had told him of the games many times, and now it was time to fight in them. The day was coming, and it was coming soon.

The synthetic man lay there staring at the trophies. He played back the events in his mind. All that happened on that day in the desert. Then it hit him, the reason that the acceleration hadn't worked before! He had burnt it out; he had used it so many times that it had been shorted out or something. He sat up and thought for a moment. He then pulled off the sweaty tunic and tossed it across the room. And he was there to catch it. Vaughn stood there laughing, holding his shirt and standing alone. He had regained the acceleration by simply not using it for a while. He threw the tunic back down and walked over to the hammock and slumped down, for a very pleasant night's sleep. He woke in the morning to the computer consol bleeping. He rolled out of his hammock and slowly staggered to the computer. He pressed a few buttons and Ka'jeal's face appeared. "Ah!" Vaughn jumped back and said "man I really don't wanna see your ugly mug so early in the morning kaj". Ka'jeal laughed and replied "you are not so pretty yourself, disgusting ooman cheeks, and no mandibles! You look like a woman!" Vaughn chuckled and sat down in the chair that was there. "So what's the special rise and shine occasion?" Ka'jeal lit up and proudly replied "today, we reach the place were the games will be held!" Vaughn sat up in his chair and grinned. He had been waiting for this ever since he got here, and whether he stayed or went when he won didn't even matter, the fact was that he was going to win.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Suiting up**

The arbiter's enormous ship slowly cruised towards a giant metallic sphere. It was but a moon to the gaseous giant of a planet that it orbited though. The rays of the small blue sun cut sharply through space, and created a shimmer along the surface of the sphere. "What...is... that?" Vaughn was pressed up against one of the large windows of the ship, staring out at the thing that radiated an eerie beauty. "That is Nar Shad'ah-ha, the city of the games!" Other ships came into view one by one, none quite as large or impressive as the grand arbiters'. "That thing is a city?" The synthetic man was baffled. "Yes! It is one of the biggest Yautja cities there are, that is why it holds the games!" Vaughn wanted to know more about this place, but he held back his questions for some later time.

The ship slid into a port on the city, and Ka'jeal told Vaughn to follow him soon after. They walked down one of the long halls, and through the central area, then to the bridge. The arbiter stood, arms crossed behind his back, and looking out over the dock through the large windows. Vaughn had not seen him much after his first couple of hours here, only now and then when he would check in on his progress. The grand arbiter spun and looked Vaughn up and down with a bit of a frown. "You have improved in your ability ooman, and you shall bring us great honor on this day... but first you must dress as one with great honor would." One of the apprentice predators stepped out from behind two vanguards and handed Vaughn a folded pair of brown hide pants, Yautja sandals, a red headband with a strip of metal across the front, and two leather fingerless gauntlets with studded metal knuckles, along with a number of leather straps and metal buckles. The arbiter walked up to Vaughn and held out a red piece of cloth. Vaughn held out the armful of clothing and the arbiter placed the red cloth on top. "This is the mark of my clan ooman, wear it with pride, and dare not dishonor it" Vaughn simply bowed his head and when the arbiter turned, he walked off of the bridge and to a room that Ka'jeal led him too. "You can change in here." Vaughn stepped into the room after Ka'jeal opened the door and stripped down as it closed behind him. He pulled on the hide pants first. They were stiff and new, they would take some getting used to, and some time to wear in. he slid one of the straps through the loops to hold them up, then cress-crossed two at his waist like Ka'jeal. He pulled on the leather gauntlets; they had a nice heavy feel with their weighted metal knuckles. He slipped on the sandals and tied them tight. He held up the red piece of cloth, an armband. It was a maroon color, with a white symbol of two wrist blades crossing each other in a "x". He slid it up his left arm and onto his bicep, a nice snug fit. He picked up the headband and tied it around his forehead. The door slid open and the new Vaughn stepped out. "Now that is what a blood ooman is expected to look like!" Ka'jeal slapped Vaughn on the shoulder and they laughed. Ka'jeal quickly took a more serious tone. "Vaughn you are about to fight in the games for our clan, I wish you great luck, and more honor" Vaughn nodded. He had come to respect the Yautja code, a code of honor, of true huntsmen and warriors. "Then lets go" Vaughn said walking past Ka'jeal with a determined pace.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: into the city**

Vaughn waited behind the grand arbiter as the gates opened up. The vanguard on either side of the arbiter kept in close proximity. Ka'jeal stood beside Vaughn and a vanguard stood beside both of them. A trail of apprentices and a few medics followed behind in formation. The gates to the great city opened and Vaughn was stunned.

Huge sky scrappers reached up into the air in the distance as far as he could see. Closer, there was row upon row of low buildings, each was surprisingly nice for appearing to be the slums, and a street carved its way right down the middle. They walked down the street at a brisk pace, never stopping. Hundreds of Yautja filled every nook and cranny, the females whom Vaughn was seeing for the first time were somewhat similar to the males, except for they lacked mandibles, and their hairline was closer up. Yautja children clung to their mothers or played in the alleyways. Most of them wore shades of brown and tan hide clothing of various sorts, some were warriors like the ones Vaughn had met so far, but they all seemed lower class. Some cheered as the arbiter's clan marched by, but none were quite. There was a low roar of talking (all in Yautja) as they all milled about. It was a sort of market place; shops set up along the sides of the street, Yautja all moving from one to the other. Everyone got out of the arbiter's way when he walked by, but it was not a thing of fear, but of respect. The arbiter himself signaled acknowledgement a few times when someone would yell a praise or cheer. Some yelled good luck, and others just yelled. The Yautja all looked at Vaughn in a funny way though, kind of like when a child sees someone of a different ethnic background, or some new animal for the first time. A kind of cautious curiosity. A few of the warriors flashed Vaughn a dirty look, but he barely noticed. Vaughn laughed a few times when someone would yell out something like "good-looking ooman arbiter!" And the arbiter would laugh when Vaughn yelled back "thanks" in Yautja. Needless to say they were pretty stunned.

The coliseum could be seen as they approached it, between the tall buildings and the market place like area. It closely resembled the roman coliseum (or apparently the roman coliseum resembled it) but on a larger scale. They arrived there a short time later, entering through a massive set of double doors. Past the doors was a hall that circled all the way around the coliseum. They walked to one of the smaller doors that lined the hall, and one of the vanguards opened it. "Ka'jeal, take the ooman here to prepare, the opening ceremonies will be soon." Ka'jeal nodded at what the arbiter had said and walked into the room. Vaughn followed, but before he could go into the room, the arbiter stopped him. "Good luck ooman" Vaughn bowed his head and stepped in. Vaughn and Ka'jeal sat in the room for what seemed like forever. The synthetic man was starting to get nervous, but Ka'jeal prepped him for the battle that lay ahead. They talked about some of the rules of the tournament; none really, just weapon restrictions mostly. And they talked about other things until a vanguard entered the room. "Its time" Ka'jeal and Vaughn stood and followed the vanguard into a much larger room.

The room was full of all different kinds of species. Vaughn was amazed to see all of the variety; he had no idea that there was so much intelligent life in the universe. But the appearance of one of the larger competitors made him rethink the intelligent part. All of the aliens here looked similar in a couple of ways. Two arms, two legs, bipedal. Most were from about five and a half feet to eight feet tall. Other than that they had various differences, skin color, eyes, mouths, ears, all different. Some even seemed to have thick leather skin that make them a little more armored than the others. Vaughn was the only human (well, synthetic human) but a few were similar. He took his place among them as Ka'jeal stood against a wall. Big doors creaked open and the crowd roared and light poured into the room.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: let the games begin... **

Deep drums banged a steady tribal beat as the twenty some fighters walked out into the arena. The crowd erupted in a massive roar of cheers and thundering applause. The fighters looked back and forth around them at the huge crowd. There was a short ceremony as a couple of high class looking Yautja addressed the fighters and the crowd, making a special point to welcome the grand arbiter and someone from some Yautja council. The fighters retreated back to the room they came from, but the doors were not closed.

The fights began and progressed with surprising brutality. Vaughn watched as fight after fight became a bloody battle, then ended in death. These were all clearly meant to be death matches. Vaughn's turn came near the end of the first round. He stepped out into the arena and took his position. The other fighter walked out shortly after. A creature about the same height as Vaughn, light gray skin, and small black beady eyes. It had no nose to speak of and three fingers on each hand. Other than that it was relatives human looking. A thick tuft of black greasy hair sprouted from its head and reached down its back. It wore a long leather loincloth and wasn't very muscular. The two fighters stared at each other as a pair of Yautja rolled out two chests. One of the Yautja approached Vaughn with a chest and opened it up. Inside were most all the weapons of the Yautja. "Pick one ooman" Vaughn reached into the chest and pulled out a metal gauntlet. He replaced his right leather one with it, and with a flick of the wrist two, two-foot blades sprung from the top. The competitor attached a thick black belt covered in tiny throwing daggers to its waist. The two Yautja rolled the chests away and with a long loud horn blow, the match was on. The crowd quickly grew quite, as the two fighters stared each other down. Neither moved for a while, then the creature leapt into action. Daggers flew from his body at blinding speed, almost as if it didn't even touch them. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Vaughn to use the acceleration, but he didn't want to waste it so early in the games. One of the daggers tore through his shoulder and he winced as another nicked his side. Vaughn began to stagger forward blocking some of the daggers with his wrist blades as he swung them back and forth. The creature stood his ground and with blinding speed pulled more daggers one by one and they flew from him and into the charging synthetic. Blood splattered and Vaughn screamed; now running full tilt at the creature, wrist blades raised high into the air. The creature now frantically launched more daggers as fast as he could, still not moving. The crowd roared with excitement at the bloody rush. Vaughn screamed at the top of his lungs as he charged at the creature. It's arms moved at light speed as it flung more and more daggers. It threw one last one, which Vaughn blocked, then reached for another, and found none. Its beady eyes widened with fear as it found it was out of ammo, it looked up just in time to see Vaughn point blank. Vaughn dropped down to one knee as the blood poured from his body. The creature took a step back and almost turned to run, but Vaughn's left hand shot up and grabbed it by the neck. The creature struggled and choked, but Vaughn held tightly. And in one powerful arc, Vaughn brought the wrist blades up with force. The blades tore into the creature's abdomen and its black blood gushed out around them. It shook and sputtered blood out of its mouth as Vaughn stood, released his grip from its neck, and lifted it high into the air with one arm. The crowd exploded with cheers and yells as Vaughn held it high in the air, daggers still sticking out from his flesh in many places. His arm rippled at the stress and the creature shook one last violent time, then fell still. Vaughn threw the lifeless body to the ground, then thrust his bloody arm into the air and yelled as the crowd went wild.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Round two**

Vaughn sat through round two, watching the fights become more entertaining. The fist round had weeded out the weaklings, and the second was proving to make sure only the best moved on. Vaughn was watching the other fighters, how they moved, how they struck, any weakness he could find.

One fighter in particular caught his interest. A lanky beast, maybe seven feet tall. Long black dreadlocks hung from his head, and his body was covered in muscle. His skin was a deep purple, almost black color, and he looked surprisingly human with the exception of his height, and his face. His face almost reminded Vaughn of a reptile, narrow eyes, thin lips with tiny razor sharp teeth behind them, and two tiny slits in the middle of his face the must have been his nose. It was easy to tell that this being had encountered many opponents in his time, for he was covered from head to toe in thick purple scars. He wore black tattered shorts and his feet and hands were wrapped with thin leather straps, making him resemble a kind of alien kick boxer.

Vaughn stood and readied himself as the dark fighter walked back to the waiting area. Vaughn began to walk out, and the fighter slammed his shoulder into Vaughn's. He was almost knocked off balance and he spun to look at the beast. "You dink you wanna dake Rhal?" The fighter bellowed in a deep and distorted English. "If you make it too the finals, then ill meet your sorry ass there." Vaughn said as he turned and walked out into the arena. "Rhal da champion mon, you little ooman gonna be da sorry one." Vaughn's showboating in the first round had won the crowd over, and made him a fan favorite. He entered the arena to chants of "ooooooman!!! Oooooooman!!!" Over and over as the crowd cheered for him.

This fight started much like the last, two predators wheeling out the weapon carts, and the fighters arming themselves. His opponent this time was a large brute. It was big, and not so smart. Maybe seven and a half feet tall, bulky muscles covered it, and it had a neck the size of Vaughn's waist. Its head hung low off of its shoulders, a head that closely resembled that of a hairless bulldog. It was a dark brownish color with spots on its shoulders and back. It wore only a gray kilt/skirt type garment. Vaughn again opted for the wrist blades, while this bulk of flesh chose a large axe. The fight was over almost as if it had never started. The beast swung once and missed, its blade swinging high above Vaughn's head. It could have caused some serious damage; maybe even cleaved a man in half (which the thing had done in its first round fight). But it was much to slow to even nip Vaughn, a fatal flaw. Vaughn dodged the mighty axe as it slammed into the ground behind him, sending up a cloud of dirt. He ducked in close and the creature let out a roar as Vaughn swiped once backhanded across the creatures stomach, then leapt back as the intestines poured out of the gash along with gallons of dark blood. The body fell with a dull wet thud as it landed in its own innards. The crowd roared its approval and Vaughn walked back after his quick fight, stopping for a second as he passed the body. "Ugly, dumb, and slow, you must get all the ladies" then continued on with a smirk on his face.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: intermission**

Vaughn sat with Ka'jeal in the waiting area. Two more rounds would pass before the final, and Vaughn dominated both of his matches, with one injury, a relatively light cut across his chest from a spear that he underestimated the length of. He watched as Rhal flawlessly beat his opponents to a bloody pulp match after match. Bare knuckle boxing each fighter until they could hardly stand, then finishing them off with a swipe of the wrist blades that he hadn't unleashed until then. Ka'jeal explained to him that Rhal was the four time champion, a feat surpassed by none, and matched by few. This was a big year for Rhal, it was his fifth year in the tournament, and he hoped his fifth win, which would give him the title of longest running champion. Vaughn thought to himself "no wonder the guy is such a prick, he's nervous as hell." Vaughn watched as the champion won his semi final match with a particularly gruesome and spectacular wrist blade uppercut to the jaw. The roar from the crowd drowned out Vaughn and Ka'jeal's strategizing.

After the crowd died down, Rhal re-entered the big waiting room, and sat on a bench on the far side. The loud speaker came on again, announcing that there would be a short intermission before the final bout, which would be between the current champion from council member Ark'ha's clan, and the ooman from the Arbiter's clan. Apparently one of the most exciting matches in recent history. Ka'jeal informed Vaughn of both the prestige, and awkwardness of this match-up. On one hand, this was the championship match in the games and Ka'jeal was very proud that someone he had trained made it this far (as he told Vaughn every minute or so) and on the other hand, Vaughn was fighting the representative of a council member's clan. And the Arbiter was the council's enforcer so to speak, so this made it quite the delicate situation if Vaughn won. Since both him and the Arbiter would have to restrain their enthusiasm until they returned to the ship, something at which neither of them was good at. "this is a very dangerous fight Vaughn, you will have to watch him closely, study his moves, learn his weaknesses, and the speed of the gods couldn't hurt" Vaughn looked at his trainer and laughed. "Ka'jeal, I figured that you would have given up on that by now?" And gave a tiny punch to the Yautja's arm as he stood. "What do you mean?" But Vaughn just laughed again as the deep horn blew and the drums banged, signaling the beginning of the championship match.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter22: The razor gauntlets**

Rhal and Vaughn stood side by side at the entrance to the arena as the announcer went over some formalities. The two fighters stood still, looking straight ahead and taunting each other. "So da little ooman made it dis far eh?" "Yeah, I guess I did, and I guess you're about to find out why." "Oh I see ya out der, takin all da hits mon, den bein fine in da nex roun. You don fool Rhal little ooman, he knows you sumpin special. But you dink a dis, why Rhal four dime champion mon? You bout fine dat out" Vaughn couldn't help but to smile, he couldn't believe that he was so excited about this, and at that point, he realized that this was his place, not necessarily here, but this culture. As horrible as it was, he loved every second of this brutal brawling, and it showed. In the way he played the crowd, the way he talked strategy between matches with Ka'jeal, and even in the way he stood now, trash talking with an alien species. That was something he would never have believed if you had told him just a relatively short time before. But to be fair, how many people would?

The loud horn blew again as the two fighters made their way to the center of the arena. They reached it and a single Yautja approached them. "As is custom, the champion of the games gets to choose the weapon of the final bout, Rhal as champion, what is your choice?" Everyone here spoke in the Yautja tongue, and humans were the only species who lacked that ability, normal humans anyway. "Rhal choose da same weapons dat he choose for da past dree year mon, da razor gauntlets." The Yautja nodded looked at Vaughn "he said..." the Yautja started in English, but Vaughn interrupted him in near perfect Yautja "I heard him". He had played along with the whole "speak English to the ooman" gig so far, but it had started to get old. "So you fulla more surprizes dan Rhal dink huh?" The champion said as he took his position. Vaughn looked back as he took his and said "Rhal, you aint seen nothin yet." They both stood there, about twenty yards or so away from each other, waiting the arrival of the weapons. Two Yautja came jogging out a short time later, carrying large metal buckets. Now Vaughn had no idea what a razor gauntlet was, but he found out soon enough. One of the Yautja sat down the bucket in front of Vaughn, then left. Inside was a large coil of what appeared to be the Yautja version of razor wire. The synthetic man looked up to see Rhal wrapping the wire around his hands, literally creating a razor gauntlet. Vaughn did the same; the thick leather gauntlets he already wore protected him from the wire, he notice that Rhal's leather hand wraps would shield his own hands. The fight began after the Yautja cleared the empty buckets, and the deep horn blew once again.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Fighting the Champ**

Vaughn and Rhal stared each other down, each not moving for a good minute. Rhal raised his fists up to his face, palms facing Vaughn, as he slowly rose to the balls of his feet. Rhal shifted his weight from one foot to another, almost bouncing as his long dreadlocks swung side to side. It reminded Vaughn of some kind of Muay Thai kickboxing. The crowd roared its approval at this, as he must have done it in previous championship victory matches. He moved with a fluid and rhythmic motion that almost seemed soothing. "Float like a butterfly..." Vaughn muttered to himself as he slowly approached the fighter. Rhal seemed to move without breaking his rhythmic step, just kind of floating around as the two competitors circled each other.

Vaughn was hit first; a quick jab to the shoulder put him on higher guard. Rhal was fast, much faster than anyone else he had fought. The razor wire stung, and as Rhal retracted his fist, tiny bits of Vaughn's shoulder went with it. He winced and shook off the sting, keeping his hands up like a boxer. Another jab sent Vaughn stumbling back and almost losing his balance, this one popping him on the chin. The synthetic man shook his jaw as the small bullets of blood formed just below his lip. Three more punches came, two jabs and a hook. The jabs both tagged Vaughn's chest, but the hook was blocked by his right arm. Vaughn kept his distance from the smiling champion, he had at least a foot reach disadvantage, and Vaughn wasn't much of a boxer to begin with. Another hook came from the left, but it was too high. Vaughn dashed in close to Rhal and began to bring up his right hand in a powerful uppercut, but was met with a devastating head butt from above. Vaughn fought off the stars as he stumbled back out away from Rhal, receiving two more jabs for his trouble. "So da little ooman not so tough after all huh?" Vaughn gritted his teeth and cracked his neck as he tried to figure out a strategy. Rhal gave him no such opportunity, as the huge dark fighter closed in and unleashed a barrage of punches. Vaughn covered up his head as the razor sharp blows hit him one after the other. He could feel the warm trickle of his own blood, as he was beat from side to side. He held his balance though, if only barely. An opportunity came after a series of hard rights. Vaughn noticed that Rhal had lost his rhythm for a split second, and that was all he needed. He ripped up through the air with an uppercut, which landed underneath Rhal's jaw with shattering force. The champion stumbled back, a thin trail of blood trailing from his lips as he flailed his arms wildly and struggled to keep his balance. Vaughn decided that it was his turn to dish out a beat down. What followed was a flurry of fists and razors. Vaughn swung again and again, blood flying from his now dripping fists, soaked from the wounds covering Rhal's arms and chest. Vaughn put all of his strength into one last punch, a hook that connected with the side of Rhal's head in a satisfying thud. Rhal flew through the air, totally horizontal, then hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Vaughn yelled and raised his fist high into the air.

The crowd was dead silent for a full ten seconds, then exploded with cheers and chants of "oooooman!!! oooooman!!!" It was then that Vaughn noticed just how much he had taken, he was covered in his own blood. Tiny scratches and cuts ran in all directions across his body. They were tender to the touch, but he was happy anyway, he had after all, just won the games. Well, at least he though he had.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Trump card**

Vaughn turned to see Rhal rising to his feet as the crowd cheered even louder. "So, da little ooman gets a lucky punch and dinks he da new champion?" Rhal laughed and held his hands high above his head. "Dis is Rhal's house, an he aint like you trying ta move in" Rhal retook his fluidic fighting stance, and it became apparent to Vaughn that this was not going to be a sprint, it was a marathon. The two fighters moved slowly around the arena exchanging shots. Most were blocked, as the two fighters felt each other out, waiting for another chance to strike a heavy blow. Both were cut and bloody from head to toe, and Rhal was now missing a tooth. Suddenly as the they were keeping back a bit, Vaughn felt a change in the air, the time was now. Rhal lunged forward with one, almost sonic fist, but Vaughn was ready. The synthetic forced the acceleration out of his body, and for one of the first times in a while, time slowed down. To Rhal and the crowd, Vaughn simply became a blur, as the punch guided in for his head. Vaughn was there one second, and in a streak, he was moved. Vaughn let the calm flow over him as he floated past Rhal's outstretched right arm, moving to the outside. He reached out and grabbed the champion's wrist, razor wire and all, and held it tightly. While his right arm was holding onto Rhal's, he pulled back his own left. Vaughn pulled Rhal's hand towards him, and in one motion, thrust his left palm at the stiff elbow of the champion. The arm snapped with a sickening echo, and the flesh rippled at the force. He let go of the arm and it stayed hanging there. He took a step back, and then hit Rhal in the stomach with the force of a sledgehammer with his right fist. Vaughn let the feeling go away, and Rhal shot through the air and hit the ground like a rag doll.

Vaughn held his position, arm outstretched and shaking from the tension. At this point, it was rather appropriate to say that the crowd went literally insane. No one was in his or her seats after a few seconds, and they roared at the top of their lungs with excitement. Vaughn looked back at the waiting area to see Ka'jeal standing on his feet eyes wide and mouth open with amazement. He looked to the VIPs balcony to see the same reaction from the Arbiter. Vaughn felt heavy now after the acceleration, and dropped down to one knee. He took a couple of deep breaths and got some of his composure back. Rhal lay on the ground a short distance away, holding his shattered arm to his stomach and grunting in pain as he tried to stand. The first few attempts were unsuccessful, but the champion eventually stood. "Little... Ooman... you dink you... You beat Rhal?!!? No chance!" Rhal talked between grunts of pain and trying to catch his breath. Vaughn shook out his fists and casually addressed Rhal. "So, you ready to give up now? Or am I gonna have to beat you down some more?" Rhal laughed to himself as he let his right arm fall limp. He raised his other arm, and signaled Vaughn to "bring it"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Aint over till its over**

Vaughn slowly walked towards the broken champion. He had his hands up as a precaution, but didn't think that there could be much threat from a man with a shattered arm. He got in fairly close as Rhal continued to fight in a partial version of his stance. The champion moved back a little as Vaughn closed in, a trap. Vaughn got closer, and all he saw was something coming up at him, then the ceiling. He lay on his back stunned for a moment, then rolled backwards to his feet, to see Rhal; leg still fully extended in the air. A sick grin stretched from ear to ear on the champion as he let his leg down to normal. Vaughn's head spun and he had trouble staying up at first. Blood dripped down into his left eye from a gash the kick left on his forehead. "You kick a lot harder than you punch..." Vaughn said to a blurry Rhal. "Heh heh heh, da ooman gonna find out why Rhal da champion, right here and now mon!" Blood and spit flew from the champion's mouth as he yelled. Vaughn fought off the dizziness and raised his guard. "So I guess it ends here then?" "Dat sound good to Rhal mon" Rhal smiled through a bloody grin as he slowly made his way toward Vaughn.

Vaughn kept on guard, never even blinking. Rhal's legs shot out one then the other, over and over again. Each powerful strike clubbing against Vaughn's body. His arms, his sides his own legs. He was beat back and forth across the arena like a rag doll. The kicks were fast and hard, he could barely see them coming, and it felt like he was getting hit with a bat every time one landed. It was all Vaughn could do to keep his head covered up. A particularly strong straight kick to his chest sent him sprawling to the ground. He landed on his stomach, and rolled to the side just in time to miss Rhal stomping down hard where his head had just been. Vaughn grunted at the pain that arose from his chest. He could feel the broken ribs that were the result of the last powerful kick. He coughed hard and blood came out onto the ground. Rhal laughed and raised his leg into the air to stomp down again. Vaughn ignored his pain and swung his legs around, sweeping away Rhal's now off balance stance. The champion fell to the ground with a hard thud, landing flat on his back. Vaughn rolled over on top of him, sitting up and clenching his fists tight. The synthetic man began punching the downed champion in the face, over and over. The crowd roared as Vaughn's arms churned like two mighty pistons, blood followed his hands up as he brought back each punch. Vaughn let out a primal scream as he continued to pound away at the defenseless fighter. More blood splattered up onto Vaughn and covered his hands; it ran from his gauntlets and dripped from the razor wire. Vaughn stopped punching and breathing heavily, held up one bloody fist to the crowd. More cheers erupted down into the arena.

The synthetic man looked down at the mangled bloody heap of flesh that used to be Rhal's face. He sat still there on top of the champion of a few more seconds, glad that this brutal braw was now over. But then one horribly bloodshot eye shot open amidst the destroyed face, and a deep gurgling bubbled out of his throat. "What the hell?!" Vaughn shouted with surprise as Rhal's legs reached up from behind him and wrapped themselves around his neck. Vaughn was thrown backwards and off of Rhal. he landed on his back, and for a second couldn't even tell what had happened. The roar of the crowd had been cut off in mid stream, and now sixty thousand strong stood silent. Wave after wave of pain flowed over Vaughn as he lay on the ground, grimacing from his broken ribs. Not to mention the thousands of small wounds all over his body. He rolled to his stomach and slowly and painfully stood to his feet. Vaughn turned to see what was left of Rhal, now standing motionless, arms limp and head hanging from his shoulders like a dead man's. His one remaining eye staring a hole straight through Vaughn. More gurgling came from Rhal's throat as blood gushed out of his mouth. He started a slow and zombie-like walk towards Vaughn. he picked up some speed with every step, never gaining much though. Vaughn stood there, looking at the champion with awe. "Why wont you just freaking die already?!" Vaughn screamed at the half charging champ. The synthetic man clenched his fist and his knuckles cracked. He gritted his teeth and waited for the other fighter to reach him. Rhal came at him without style, without even an attack, simply the instinct to fight on. Vaughn swung with a hard right, which stopped Rhal dead in his tracks, and sent him stumbling backwards. Teeth fell from the now shattered jaw of the champion, but it didn't seem to affect him. He once again began to stagger forward. Vaughn pulled his arm back for once last punch. "Its over now Rhal! just walk away now, and you may make it here again." But forward the dead man came. Vaughn let loose his punch, a punch that drained him of his last little bit of energy, and a punch that he collapsed after throwing. It was also a punch that connected firmly with the side of Rhal's head, shattering the eye socket, and scrambling his brains to mush. The champion let out one last moan as he fell limply to the ground at the same time Vaughn did. The crowd exploded with deafening cheers as Vaughn slowly stood to his feet. He looked out over them, almost all were Yautja, and they were cheering for him. His flesh hung from his body as he stumbled back to the waiting room. Ka'jeal stood ecstatically waiting for him, the new champion of the games.

There was a victory ceremony after the championship. Vaughn stood in the arena, surrounded by the arbiter's clan members and the arbiter himself. The crowd cheered and Vaughn was awarded with spear. It was big and gaudy, covered in blades and jewels, something that really wasn't meant for use. He accepted it as humble as he could, which surprised just about everyone there since he had showboated in the tournament. He didn't do it because of the council member though. He couldn't bring himself to be very happy about this victory, something kept bugging him. He couldn't figure out why the Yautja were so happy now. They seemed to be very honor based, yet finishing off a man that was in no condition to fight didn't strike Vaughn as honorable, and that is what he had done. He erased this from his mind when they all left this grand city of Yautja and retreated to their ship. A party ensued, one that was kind of an initiation for Vaughn. Many things had changed in Vaughn's life over the course of it, things that most people couldn't dream of. But his life was now with the Yautja, and that was his decision, to stay with them.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter **26**: Hunt**

The tall sagging trees hung like zombie willows in the endless swamp. The water that covered the land was a murky brown, and a thin layer of fog covered its surface. Thousands of insects chirped and buzzed in the patches of high swampy grass that sprouted up here and there. An enormous blue moon hung in the sky, giving the already eerie landscape an even more horrific appeal.

A large creature moved through the soggy land. It was easily twelve feet tall, hunched over. Long strands of moss and seaweed hung from its body as it slowly lumbered around. It closely resembled a carnivorous dinosaur, but with a long slender blade on its tail. A row of horns that started on its nose ran all the way down its back. Its long and muscular arms hung almost to the ground, and two rows of large sharp fangs lined its mouth. It stopped suddenly, and looked around it. It took in several deep breaths through its nostrils as it held up its head. A deep roar shot from its mouth as it swung its head hard into the trunk of a nearby tree. The rotted wood splintered into a billion pieces as the beast's head tore though. The tree toppled into the swampy water, as did an invisible figure. The figure flailed around as the electrical field around him shorted out and exposed him. The young Yautja quickly dove under the chest deep water. Another hunter de-cloaked in a tree some fifty yards away two large Yautja shrunken flew from his hands. The blades tore into the beast and it roared with pain. The projectiles spun through the air and back to their owner. The beast charged at the thrower's tree which was on the water's edge. This tree was obliterated much like the first, but this Yautja jumped out shortly before, and onto the soggy land.

The first Yautja climbed up onto a rock that jutted out of the water, spear now in hand. He raced towards his ally, jumping from stump to rock to piece of land. The beast rushed towards the second Yautja as it again let loose the twin shrunken. It sloshed up onto the land at the same time as the first Yautja reached the area. The two stood side by side, ready for combat. The two rushed around the beast, attacking here and there, trying to dodge its monstrous blows. They jumped and flipped out of the way several times, while scoring their own hits. Eventually their luck ran out. The beast connected with the shrunken wielding Yautja with the side of its huge head. The Yautja flew through a tree, smashing it to bits as he spun to the ground after the impact. The other Yautja was knocked to the ground, and his spear tossed aside by a sweep of the beast's tail. He was lucky not to be hit by the blade. The Yautja lay on the ground, watching helplessly as the huge beast moved in. Then seemingly out of no were came another Yautja. This one slightly smaller than the other two. He uncloaked as he fell from the sky and landed on the beast's back. He wore golden armor that covered both of his arms completely, and half of his chest. His legs had the same style of shin guards. He wore black fingerless gloves underneath of his gauntlets, and a long red cloak hung from his back. His mask resembled the front of a human skull and brown dreadlocks hung from the back of his head. He swung his arm out and two huge wrist blades shot out from his gauntlet. The Yautja who had smashed through the tree sat up, and with a relived tone in his voice shouted "Vaughn!".


End file.
